THE technical glitch with the Air Traffic Management System (ATMS) of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) on New Year’s Day, January 1 resulted in the cancellation of 11 flights between Davao and Manila.
Major airlines namely Philippine Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific (CEB), and AirAsia Philippines announced that a number of their flights between the two areas had been affected by the power outage that disrupted the air navigational system at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
PAL, the country's flag carrier, announced in its advisory that four of its Davao-Manila flights were canceled.
In its January advisory, a flight between Manila and Davao was canceled despite NAIA's operation gradually going back to normal.
"It will take some time to fully restore normal schedules as we reposition aircraft that had been held back or diverted to other airports and adjust flight timings based on revised clearances in coordination with the local authorities," PAL said in a statement.
CEB, in a separate advisory, also revealed that two of its Manila-Davao-Manila flights were canceled on Monday, January 2.
The airline company said they are working on the recovery of its network and normalizing its operations.
"Cebu Pacific (CEB) continues to review its operations following the technical glitch in the Air Traffic Management System of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)," CEB said.
Meanwhile, AirAsia announced that four of its flights between Manila and Davao scheduled for January 2 have been rescheduled to January 3.
"Again, our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience caused by this [unforeseen] disruption," AirAsia said, adding that the situation is beyond their control and they are working closely with government and airport authorities.
Meanwhile, two Manila-Davao-Manila flights of Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) were also canceled on Monday.
“CEB is still working on the recovery of its network and normalizing its operations,” it said.
CAAP reported that the main and backup power supply of its air traffic management system had failed, affecting the air traffic control in the entire country.
SunStar Davao reached out to CAAP-Davao for updates on the operation of the Francisco Bangoy International Airport (also known as Davao International Airport) with regards to the technical glitch in NAIA, but they have not responded as of writing. RGL